We’re going to brunch, yes, brunch, at my in-laws. No barbecue. No fireworks. Not that I really care.
My community goes ape-shit every 4th, starting with a 10K race at 8 p.m., a major parade down Sunset Blvd. in the afternoon, and fireworks at Pali High’s football field at night. One year my husband and I spearheaded the building of a float for our kids’ elementary school.
We built a giant TV set and set it on a flatbed with couches for the kids to watch it. I painted four different “channels” on sewn-together sheets representing the results of a student poll asking the question, “What would you like to see in the future?” (The theme of the parade that year was Our Children are Our Future.) The top four answers were: Peace, Equality, Clean Environment, and No Drugs.
The first channel panel showed two newscasters announcing that World Peace had been declared. The next showed Lifestyles of the Clean & Non-Toxic. The third depicted drug-free Miami Nice and the last showed The Wheel of Good Fortune for All complete with such sections as Education, Housing, and Jobs. (I still have the sheets folded up on a closet shelf.) For the entire parade route, I stood inside the giant TV with a sixth grade boy and we “turned” the channels (on rollers) every ten seconds.
Needless to say, we took the Mayor’s Trophy for best float. It was as tall as my youngest daughter. To this day, conceiving of and building that float was one of the most satisfying creative enterprises of my life. Much more fulfilling than being a screenwriter!
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